When I announced the contest for iPad CRM applications (at least from your mind’s eye) about a month ago, one thing I didn’t expect was the speed that vendors would jump on the iPad development bandwagon.
Since my announcement:
- NetSuite showed an iPad application developed by a partner, Iron Solutions, for the agricultural equipment industry at their April 14 launch in San Francisco. It was a surprisingly good first take for an iPad app and did something that wasn’t how I would conceive this device being used. NetSuite also has an iPhone app for its own solution that is now compatible with the iPad
- Earlier that same day, SugarCRM showed a native iPad app for SugarCRM that they launched at their annual SugarCon user conference.
- On April 20, Oracle announced support for the iPad by combining their Siebel driven REST API with the Apple iPad OS SDK. One thing I have to say is that Siebel is turning out to be a surprisingly versatile development tool for contemporary social capabilities. They are never ceasing to surprise at this point. Not all where I expected this stuff to come from. Here’s a look at a Oracle/Siebel iPad app as demonstrated:
3. I know of at least one other significant CRM player who is working on the iPad as a delivery device for their powerful business applications set. No, its not salesforce.com. They’ve been surprising quiet on this front.
Now on to the voting.
Polls
The game plan here is this. I’m going ask your opinion in two ways. First about which of 4 choices makes the most business sense to you. Then which of the same exact 4 choices seems the coolest to you. Needless to say, unless you think business sense is entirely the coolest thing EVER, they don’t have to be the same but can be of course. Due to space limitations for how long an answer can be I’m going to post the suggestion in its entirety and then underneath as much of the name as I know for who made the suggestion. Please vote for the name in the poll answers.. The winner gets the $50.00 Amazon gift certificate. I’m leaving this up for the month of May so vote like crazy. The poll will open Monday May 3 and close on May 31. Even if the vote is 2 to 1 (weighted points) there will be a winner. I urge you to vote. Here goes.
Mark Tamis
I think the iPad is a perfect device for facilitating a frictionless customer experience in for example food & beverage. Say you want to have a quick bite @ McDonald’s (or Starbucks or whatever). You walk in the store, bluetooth picks up on this and activates an app that allows you to order at the quick order line, or you choose to connect to the store’s wifi through that app.
The app looks at your favorite items and pre-selects if you so wish. You validate and use a micropayment system such as PayPal and the app signals when your order is ready so you can go get it at the quick order line. The shop assistant scans the 3D bar code generated by the app to validate the order.
Whilst you’re having your meal, you can choose your favorite magazine, TV show or content unique to the restaurant and have that streamed to the iPad whilst you’re having your drink or meal. You can also provide feedback to the restaurant through the app.
Potentially you could also choose to seek out ‘people like me’ in the restaurant to make contact and hook up (taken from FB or whatever as per your permission). You have a more frictionless experience, be entertained without hitting your carrier’s data limit, and have a chance to share the experience with others like you – make new friends!
The restaurant has fewer and shorter lines, faster order delivery, an insight into your consumption habits and as well as your lifestyle through the content you choose.
thought of this because I think that rather than focus on the benefit the tool can bring to the company, you should focus on the opportunities of bringing new value to the customer beyond your basic products/services.
“Don’t ask what the customer can do for you, but what you can do for your customer” 
